'Hire Winners, Not Wasters" The Top 12 Reasons We Make Mistakes Hiring Salespeople.
Companies often hire salespeople because they are simply refilling a vacancy or have a desire to increase sales and adding sales headcount seems the logical thing to do. However, firstly companies should ascertain if all the right conditions exist for an additional new salesperson to succeed.
- Is there sufficient demand in their target market for their products and services so that an additional salesperson can make target?
- Are all the necessary support roles in place with adequate spare capacity to provide the skill sets needed by the new sales hire e.g. Sales Management, Technical Specialists, Implementation Consultants, Sales Operations, Marketing and Lead Generation etc.?
- Is now the right time to hire? Is there an imminent change in the market or company that may impact demand, the length of the sales cycle, win rates, profit margins etc.?
- Is the appropriate infrastructure in place to support an additional salesperson e.g. facilities, technical equipment etc.?
- Is the structure of the overall Sales Team right? Are the appropriate roles in place to optimize our sales cycle to handle lead generation and lead development?
If the conditions are not right, companies should either postpone making the hire or work on making whatever changes are necessary to provide the necessary environment to properly support the success of the new sales hire.
